EU to provide 7,000 troops to UN force in Lebanon
Pastor Dale Morgan
Saturday August 26, 1:52 AM
*
EU to provide 7,000 troops to UN force in Lebanon*
European nations pledged up to 7,000 troops to form the core of a
beefed-up peacekeeping mission in Lebanon capable of enforcing the
fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah, officials said.
The pledges account for more than half the extra soldiers needed to
bring the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) up to a maximum mandated
strength of 15,000, from its current count 2,000.
UN chief Kofi Annan, speaking after a meeting with foreign ministers of
the 25 European Union states, hailed the conference "a success."
"We may have a unique opportunity to transform the cessation of
hostilities into a durable ceasefire," he added in Brussels.
The pledges came after France, which currently commands UNIFIL,
committed itself late Thursday to a total deployment of 2,000 soldiers.
But French President Jacques Chirac, who was speaking separately Friday
in Paris, said a level of 15,000 troop was "excessive" and it made "no
sense" to have such a large contingent alongside the Lebanese army in
the region.
In Brussels though, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose
country holds the rotating EU presidency, said the total European
contribution would be "something between 5,600 and 6,900" soldiers, as
well as air and naval assets.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy put the EU deployment at
"6,500 to 7,000 soldiers on the ground, which means that the spinal
column of the reinforced UNIFIL will be European."
The force is crucial to shoring up UN Resolution 1701, which on August
14 brought an end to the 34-day brutal conflict in Lebanon between
Israel and Hezbollah.
Annan said Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia had offered to participate
in UNIFIL -- though Israel has opposed contributions from those Muslim
countries because of an absence of diplomatic relations.
The UN chief also proposed that France see out its current term as
commander of the force, which expires at the end of January, after which
Italy would take over.
Italy is expected to supply up to 3,000 soldiers, which would make it
the biggest contributor to the force.
France, though, played a key role diplomatically in revamping the force,
having co-authored the UN resolution with the United States. It also
enjoys close relations with Lebanon, a former protectorate.
Douste-Blazy said France had "absolutely" no problem with the change of
command.
Chirac's announcement that he was sending 1,600 more troops to Lebanon
came after international criticism over his initial, emergency
deployment of just 200 soldiers to join the 200 already in UNIFIL.
A vanguard of 170 French reinforcements arrived in Lebanon on Friday,
making France the only country so far to have actually sent troops.
Chirac said he agreed to send the extra two battalions after winning a
robust mandate for UNIFIL and guarantees the force would be able to cope
if hostilities flare up again.
"I wonder how it would have been judged if I had raced off like a mad
dog without thinking or securing minimum guarantees," he said in Paris.
He also questioned the goal of boosting the force to 15,000 soldiers,
calling that "a totally excessive figure" given Lebanon's relatively
small size.
The announcement of the French reinforcements spurred some of the other
EU countries into firming up previously vague promises to contribute.
Spain was said to be ready to send 1,000 to 1,200 soldiers,
substantially more than the 800 initially cited in media reports.
Poland's private television station TVN24 reported Foreign Minister Anna
Fotyga as saying Warsaw's total contribution would be around 500 troops
which includes 214 already serving with UNIFIL.
Belgian Foreign Minister Guy Verhofstadt said his country would provide
300 soldiers by late September or early October, with the possibility of
adding nearly 100 more later. "Peace in the Middle East is an absolute
necessity," he said.
Finland pledged 250 soldiers.
Britain's Europe Minister Geoff Hoon said that while his country's
military -- heavily deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan -- was too
stretched to send ground troops, it might supply "specialised" units.
Other countries, notably Greece and Latvia, have also indicated they
could send soldiers, but no details were provided Friday.
Germany, wary of potential confrontations with Israelis because of its
Nazi past, is prepared to offer naval units, not troops, as is Sweden.
Russia, which is not an EU member, said Friday it was still considering
the possibility of sending troops.
The force is also to help Lebanon halt arms smuggling to Hezbollah over
the border with Syria, considered a main sponsor of the Lebanese
militia, if Beirut requests.
Syria is concerned at the deployment of foreign troops in Lebanon --
from which it was forced to withdraw its soldiers last year under UN
pressure led by France -- and has cut power supplies to its neighbour
and warned it may close the border.